1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical device, and more particularly, to a medical device that teaches male children how to urinate into a toilet.
2. Description of Related Technology
Parents with children of toddler age, that is, from about two to four years of age, face one of the major challenges of early parenthood when they undertake toilet training. This task can be particularly difficult with boys because they do not simply sit on a training toilet to urinate.
Teaching a boy to urinate into a toilet while standing can be a difficult proposition. Holding his penis for him while he urinates could be regarded as inappropriate by many, and can be unhygienic. Likewise, having him watch an adult male urinate not only could be considered inappropriate, but also has limited training value. And verbal explanations can be difficult for young children to understand, particularly considering that the process of toilet training can be very stressful to a child anyway. That can make it hard for him to concentrate while urinating on what to him are complicated instructions and at the same time try to keep himself dry and avoid urinating on the floor.
Of course, dolls that simulate urination are well known in the prior art. Examples are shown in French Patent 1,084,950, French Patent 2,705,907, U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,675 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,808. Most of these examples appear to be designed for play, not as toilet training aids. U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,808 is intended to assist in toilet training, but it uses a doll that sits on a toy toilet, and therefore does not illustrate for young boys how to urinate into a toilet while standing up.